SOME OUTPOSTS READY FOR EVACUATION; GOI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006519

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS SETTLEMENTS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS
SUBJECT: SOME OUTPOSTS READY FOR EVACUATION; GOI
CONSIDERING REMOVING CHECKPOINTS IN NORTHERN WEST BANK


Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel,
advisor in the Ministry of Defense, told the Ambassador on
November 4 that the GOI has taken all of the administrative
and legal steps necessary to dismantle nine illegal outposts
and the nine permanent houses in Amona outpost. He said the
IDF is waiting for a political decision to move forward on
the evacuation orders. Spiegel explained the need for
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to initiate new legislation
making illegal outpost construction a criminal vice civil
offense. Such a change, he said, would allow the IDF to deal
immediately with offenders, rather than proceed through the
delay-laden civil offense process. He continued that under
current laws, if the IDF spots a new structure at an outpost
within the first 24-48 hours, the IDF can remove the
structure immediately. After that brief window, it has to
initiate legal proceedings to dismantle the structure and
"lawyers become involved," thus turning evictions into
lengthy processes. Spiegel reported that the GOI is
considering removing all checkpoints between Nablus and
Jenin, and allowing the Palestinian Authority (PA) to take
security responsibility there. With sufficient GOI-PA
security cooperation, the resulting freedom of movement for
Palestinians could allow economic development initiatives to
begin around Jenin and the Jenin Industrial Park, an area
twice the size of Gaza, according to Spiegel. End summary.

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Outposts
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2. (C) Brigadier General (res.) Baruch Spiegel, told the
Ambassador on November 4 that the nine permanent buildings in
the Amona outpost slated for evacuation do not have any
residents in them and can be evacuated soon. He said that
this would be the first time, however, that the IDF would
destroy permanent buildings in an outpost. Spiegel continued
that nine other outposts in the West Bank can also be
evacuated immediately, since all the necessary legal and
administrative steps required have already been completed by
the MOD. In addition, their residents have exhausted their
legal recourse against evacuation. He explained, however,
that a political decision needs to be made at a higher level
on whether to evacuate the outposts, and presumably to
destroy the buildings in Amona. Besides these nine outposts,
Spiegel reported that there are an additional 26 post-March
2001 outposts, according to the GOI's count, but that
removing them will require further legal procedures. (Note:
The USG counts 44 post-March 2001 outposts. End note.)


3. (C) Spiegel told the Ambassador that Justice Minister
Tzipi Livni needs to initiate new legislation to enable the
IDF to dismantle illegal outposts immediately. He claimed
that the GOI classifies establishing illegal outposts as a
civil offense, but pointed out that if it were considered a
criminal offense, the IDF would have the power to make
arrests on the spot, including arresting the head of the
municipality where the outpost has been established. Spiegel
said that, under current laws, if a new trailer or other
structure is spotted within 24-48 hours of its first being
brought to a site, the IDF can issue a legal order to
dismantle the structure. Beyond that narrow window, however,
the IDF is forced to go through long legal procedures that
require a written complaint, at which point "lawyers become
involved" and initiate appeals. In addition, Spiegel
explained, if another trailer is added to an outpost, that
new trailer becomes another actionable illegal act that needs
to be dealt with separately. If, for example, the IDF wins a
case to evacuate an outpost with eight trailers, and settlers
somehow bring in a trailer during the proceedings that the
IDF does not notice within 48 hours, the GOI must take legal
action against that trailer separately. Spiegel claimed that
this type of situation developed last week when Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the dismantlement of an outpost.
(Note: While Spiegel did not specify the outpost, he was
likely referring to the dismantlement of the illegal outposts
that hilltop youth established near Qedummim settlement. End
note.)

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Checkpoints
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4. (C) Spiegel acknowledged that the GOI added 15-16
checkpoints around Jenin after the October 26 terrorist
attack on Hadera. He said that the GOI had previously
removed various checkpoints, and added that some would be
removed again in the near future. He reported that there are
presently 321 checkpoints in the West Bank.


5. (C) Spiegel noted that the GOI is considering a plan to
remove all of the checkpoints in the northern West Bank area
between Jenin and Nablus, and bordered by the Jordan Valley.
He characterized the area under consideration as twice the
size of the Gaza Strip, with few settlements in need of
protection. He said the checkpoints may be removed if there
is no new terrorist activity, adding that although the area
would not be reclassified under the Oslo terms of Israeli and
Palestinian control, the IDF would stay away and see how the
PA deals with it. In addition, he said, removing the
checkpoints from this area would also present an opportunity
to upgrade several water and other infrastructure projects.


6. (C) Spiegel explained that the basic problem is whether
or not the PA is capable of providing security, and to tie
the freedom of movement necessary for economic development to
security. Removing the checkpoints from one area would be a
first step -- following the principle of starting small and
then expanding. Sufficient GOI-PA cooperation on securing
the area would then allow economic development initiatives to
begin around Jenin and the Jenin Industrial Park. Spiegel
emphasized that now is the time to implement such a plan. He
said that an expert team that includes officers from IDF
Central Command, Operations, and the Engineers Corps is
currently in the field working on the proposal. Moving
forward, however, will require a political decision. Spiegel
concluded the checkpoint discussion by saying that Israel can
take a "calculated risk" to move checkpoints in a way that
would minimally affect Israeli security, but be of maximum
economic benefit for the PA.

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Convoys
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7. (C) On convoys, Spiegel said that several options have
already been prepared, but any plan must proceed
step-by-step. Initially, only a limited number of people and
a limited amount of cargo (essentially personal luggage)
would be transported by bus. He noted, however, that once
the political decision is made to proceed, the plan can be
implemented quickly, with convoys of trucks and eventually
private vehicles being added.

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